Mage - The Spiral [IC]

[Byrons_Ghost]

Taylor flexes his arm, feeling the control returning, and nods his thanks to the man.

"Well, it all seemed sort of odd, even the start of the visit. I suppose I should know better than to go riding off in cars with strangers, but I honestly believed that it would get me somewhere. It just seemed like the thing to do at the moment. And it appears that I was right..."

"Anyhow, this 'Dr. Franks' person was attempting to recruit me into some sort of organization he belongs to. From the sound of things, they consider themselves some sort of pseudo-scientific illuminati: granting funds, overseeing advances, manipulating governments, that sort of thing. I very much doubt that Franks and his associates have as much influence as he claimed.

"The thing is, he was always quite vague about what the group did, and especially about what they taught, what they believed in. He made some mentions of archetypical forces, thought patterns, the sorts of topics that I've been pursuing. But it sounded more and more like they wished to quash these things instead of pursue them. When he finally got around to hinting that they sought to suppress people in whom these abilities manifested, I'd heard enough."

Taylor pauses for a moment, glancing around the street to make sure that no one has followed them. "Are you familiar with this group, or any of their concepts?"

 

[Fanog]

outskirts of London
London, England
October 2002, around 10 PM

The man's face grows dead-serious. "Unfortunately, I am. They are called the Technocracy and, also unfortunately, most of their claims are correct. You have just begun to understand these archetypical forces. You have found that this knowledge grants power, and choice for people. The truth is that anyone can, in principle, come to understand this, and use that power. This will grant these people the freedom to govern their own lives. It is this freedom that they oppose... They will remove any sign of free will, or of individual thought from mankind, so as to be able to control the fate of humanity."

"They have been working for many centuries now, and have made progress... A lot of progress in pushing their views on mankind. They have driven from thought the idea that people can have power, can control their own destiny. By giving everyone the securities of everyday life, they have removed any desire for people to look beyond what's given them."

"It is up to you to think for yourself, learn what this power entails, and to oppose the work of the Technocrats."

Ooc: Taylor

 

[kuroshidaku]

Chuckling nervosly, Ty thinks up an experiment.

What if I put a fork in the spoon bin, and try to pick it out? That shouldn't be too hard.

He puts the fork with all the spoons and shuffles them around, arranging them so the handles all pointed the same way, trying not to look. He then closes his eyes and picks up a utensil, knowing that it is a fork, and nothing else.

After all, it's completely possible that i've picked it up. They have the same handles, and the same weight, so why shouldn't it be. It's a fork and a spoon in one. he thinks with a smile, before he opens his eyes.

 

[Fanog]

Ty's home, city centre
Cambridge, England
October 2002, around 2 PM

With fingers slightly trembling, Ty picks up one of the eating utensils. He's almost afraid to open his eyes, but curiosity take over and slowly he lifts his eye lids. Lo and behold, there's a fork in his hand. The initial sense of victory is squashed by his scientific training though, as he realizes that it could have been mere chance.

Ty repeats the experiment again and finds, to his disappointment, a spoon in his hand. He repeats the experiment again, and again, and again. After an entire morning of shuffling cutlery and several hundred retries of the experiment, Ty is confident that he has ruled out all chance. Or did I just work off of chance? Well, anyway... Out of all his experiments, he draws a fork exactly half the time, even though regular statistics would predict a result of slightly over fourteen percent. He was definately on to something here.

His mind races with the possibilities. Theory for this first, of another experiment? He checks his watch, noting with amazement that ist is already well past noon.

OoC: Ty

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Taylor looks thoughtful. "I see... so what happens now? I suspect that I'll be having more trouble from these men in the future, how do I avoid them?"

 

[Keia]

Back at Leo's home
Denver, Colorado
Saturday 12:30, October 2002

Originally posted by Fanog
"... You have now figured out how to do the same path with twice as much work. Now try to find some way to make that knowledge useful. It might help if you repeat the exercise first; run to the station in three times the paces, if that will help... Good luck."

"Well, if I can make the journey with twice or three time the effort, then the converse should be true as well. I should be able to make the journey with half as much or a third as much effort," Leo suggested looking to Masuda to see if his line of thought was getting anywhere.

If not, Leo agrees to the triple effort run and will set off for the station again.

 

[Fanog]

outskirts of London
London, England
October 2002, around 10 PM

"You avoid them by using what you have learned, and will learn. You could try to fight them, but you are not strong enough yet. If you see one, you run..."

People like you, Mister Willoughby, are their prime targets. You have knowledge and understanding and can spread that knowledge to others. They will do whatever they can to stop you from doing that... Their resources are considerable, but not endless. If you are careful, you have a good chance of learning enough to keep yourself safe from them. You know all that you need to know, the only thing you must do is hone your skills, and learn the boundaries they have. You could learn this for yourself, or you could trust me to aid you..."

OoC: Taylor

_______________________

Back at Leo's home
Denver, Colorado
Saturday 12:30, October 2002

Mr. Masuda looks quite pleased. "Yes, that might very well be the case..." Something in his voice seems to tell Leo that the man is quite a bit more sure of the result than that, even though he won't tell...

"Maybe you could still try triple paces on the way over, and then you would have the return trip, to take however you would like... You could try out any ideas you have come up with."

OoC: Leo

 

[Keia]

Back at Leo's home
Denver, Colorado
Saturday 12:30, October 2002

"Okay, let's give this bad boy a shot, then," Leo said. "Gus, I'm gonna try this again, make yourself at home. I'll be back in a half an hour."

Leo, who was jogging and stretching while talking with Mr. Masuda, practicing his stepping for a couple of seconds before setting out. Actually, Leo was more comfortable with high-stepping the jog - it would burn more energy but the steps would be naturally shorter and Leo felt that he could continue the activity for fifteen minutes.

Once his counting of the paces and his breathing rhythm were set, Leo thought of benefits of using half the energy to accomplish a task - or even using full energy and effort to get two, three or even four times the result. He let his mind dwell on the possibilities.

 

[loxmyth]

streets of Boston
Boston, Massachussets
October 2002, around 11:30 AM

"Ok," Jason breathed, calming himself down. What the man was saying was crazy, impossible - if this was true, surely science would have discovered this by now. But there was truth in the words as well, Jason could feel it. The causes of all those weird coincidences and accidents seemed to fit when explained in this animistic worldview. Spirits everywhere, was the thought whispering in his mind, and the world began to spin dizzily, as more and more whispers where added to the chorus.

All around him the world was a swirl of vibrant colours - the verdant greens of the tree leaves, yellow and red of the tulips that lined the pathway they walked, the bright azure of the mid-morning sky. And all around him was an unceasing susurrus of hushed voices all around him. He felt hot, like a sudden fever was on him, and his eyes fluttered open and closed involuntarily.

"Ok," he said again, and the words seemed to rumble inside of him. "How do I control my impulses? How do I become, fully aware?"

 

[Fanog]

streets of Boston
Boston, Massachussets
October 2002, around 11:30 AM

The old man watches Jason as he walks, never missing a pace while seeming to gaze straight into his soul.

"That is the easy part, you are doing it right now. Simply watch, and know... See all that is around you, see with the detail that only an artist's eye can appreciate. I will protect you for now, simply let yourself be immerged in the vastness of the world around you. Feel their presence, and hear their words..."

The man places a firm hand on Jason's shoulder, just as he had done earlier. It feels comforting, like an anchor keeping him in place, allowing him to drift with the assurance that he won't get lost.

OoC: Jason
_______________________

Back at Leo's home
Denver, Colorado
Saturday 12:30, October 2002

As Leo walked his fast pace, his legs moving exactly thrice as fast as they would normally move, his thought were already with the walk back home. The speed of his thinking seems to match the speed of his feet, switching back and fro between counting his current paces and thinking about the way back, how he would be able to actually use less energy.

While he was thinking about this, he found that his legs seemed to take on a will of their own... With each step, the distance between his feet seemed to shorten, until each pace was now only a few inches long. Leo could tell exactly what his pace distance was when the burning sun in the sky seemed to come closer and the air was getting thinner.

He found himself walking stairs, taking each of the tiny rough-cut steps with exactly one pace, heaving himself up the side of a snow-topped mountain. He looked up while his feet continued his fast pace, noting a wooden structure up ahead, a chinese-style building.

OoC: Leo